Fireworks
by Yami Mori
Summary: Oneshot: It was cold and dark outside, and Ritsuka didn't have the slightest idea what Soubi was dragging him to. RitsukaSoubi


Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoy this piece, and if you do, please review. Reviews make me happy and inspire me to write, lol.

Additionally, I do not own Loveless.

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Fireworks

"It's cold, Soubi," the raven haired boy commented agitatedly as he pulled his usual blue jacket tighter around his slight body, silky cat-ears disappearing deep into his hair. It was mid-winter, but it hadn't been as cold today as it had been over the recent days. If he had known that the temperature was going to drop to subzero, the boy would have thrown on his coat, not a casual jacket. And now here he was, freezing, trudging through old snow drifts as fast as his numb feet would take him in an attempt to keep up with his fighter unit's long even strides.

"I don't think it's that cold," replied the older blond with a gentle smile. Ritsuka frowned as his dark eyes flicked to Soubi's exposed hands and wondered if it was just his imagination or if Soubi's fingertips were beginning to tinge blue. "Besides, we're almost there."

"Where?" the freezing boy questioned as he shoved his hands deep into his jacket pockets in a futile attempt to keep them warm. It was dark out, and the already cold temperature was falling to near ungodly temperatures, he was sure. His tail was wrapped tightly around his left leg and all he wanted to do was turn around and go anywhere, as long as it was warm.

Soubi just looked at him through his unique glasses, lose blond hair falling to frame them, and smiled, but refused to indulge the boy. Ritsuka frowned and looked around the dark, snowy park.

This was all Soubi's fault, the boy unhappily grumbled to himself, though loud enough that he was sure the older man could hear if he was paying attention. If his fighter hadn't gotten him to promise to go on this … whatever it was, he'd be at home in his room much warmer than he was now.

But Soubi had found a way to make him promise. When the boy suspiciously questioned the older man about just what exactly they were going to be doing, alone after dusk, the blond had just smiled and said it was going to be a surprise. Ritsuka still hadn't been convinced. With Soubi you never really knew what to expect from him, even if it was to get some ice cream down the block. But Soubi had simply asked the boy to trust him and reassured that nothing bad was going to happen to him.

And, after a little more pushing and reassurance on Soubi's part, Ritsuka had reluctantly agreed to what he was now calling the winter trek through hell.

He was so cold he could hardly stand it! His teeth chattered, the scarf Seimei had given him two winters ago did little to protect his slim neck and lower face, and he was sure that he'd gotten some snow in his boots. The violet eyed boy glared miserably at the blonds back. Where ever or whatever Soubi was taking him to, it had better be worth the wintery torture.

They continued to move quietly through the park for a few more minutes until Soubi stopped at the crest of a large hill, waiting and watching as his young sacrifice grudgingly moved up next to him.

"We're here, Ritsuka."

Finally! A sharp spread of relief filled the raven haired boys' body and he quickly looked around.

There were a lot of people here, he realized as Ritsuka absent-mindedly followed his fighter down the hill. A glance showed small families all bundled up on giant blankets, or folding seats, with steaming cups of hot chocolate or coffee clutched close in their hands. Couples sat close together in tight embraces, and children ran around excitedly with each other as they shouted and played in the snow.

The sacrifice looked to his fighter. "What's going on, Soubi? Why is everyone here?"

The blond must have found a spot he liked, because he suddenly flipped out the blanket he'd been carrying in the crook of his arm and spread it out on the cold, snowy ground, shifting it this way and that to make it just large enough for the two of them. As he was doing this, he shot a shale blue glance to his sacrifice and smiled. "You haven't been keeping up with the news, have you, Ritsuka?"

The raven haired boy glanced away indignantly and shrugged. "No. Not really." The older man allowed himself to sit on the blanket before gently patting the spot beside him, which the boy slowly sank into. As Ritsuka sat and hugged his knees to his chest, tail now wrapped around his waist like a sleek, warm belt, he looked up to his partner and asked, "Why? What's going on?"

The fighter smiled his usual annoyingly teasing smile down at the boy and planted an arm behind his sacrifice. "You wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, now would you, Ritsuka?" The man's shale blue eyes lifted to the clear dark sky and lingered there as if able to see through to heaven itself. "Besides, it's about to start soon anyway. Any moment now."

"What's about to start?" Ritsuka questioned with a frown as he settled himself closer to Soubi. He was reaching a whole new level of cold now that they had stopped moving and were sitting on the frigid ground. The blanket added the layers needed to avoid the snow, and a tiny bit of the cold, but not enough. His rear end was already numb and the occasional tremors he'd had as they'd made their way here had turned into great quakes of his body as he shivered uncontrollably. No matter how much he tried to will his body to stop the annoying shaking, or mentally go somewhere warm, he couldn't and if whatever this was didn't start soon, he'd have to leave or risk getting hypothermia or frost bite.

The older man just smiled and returned his gaze to the dark, empty sky.

No sooner had the fighter done this did the sky suddenly erupt in a fury of sound and white light before crackling away an instant later. The boy could only look up at the sky in awe, even as another set of lights began to paint the night.

"Fireworks?"

"Yes," replied Soubi as he leaned closer to the boy. "It's been all over the news, you know. I was actually surprised that you didn't figure it all out before now, although I am glad you didn't."

Ritsuka was only half listening as his partner spoke, his attention completely captivated by elaborate explosions, deafening sounds, and dramatically vivid colors that dominated the night sky, causing everyone in the clearing to "Oh!" and "Ah!" continuously. The boy was so entranced that he hadn't noticed that a smile had planted itself on his young lips and that his fighter was watching him just as avidly as he was the sky.

After a particularly extravagant red firework went off, one that practically shook the trees with its fierce crackling noise, the shivers that had been chased away with adrenaline sparked by the sky show came back with a fury. Soon the boy was shaking so hard, he was practically biting his tongue in two to focus on anything except the freezing chill.

"You're cold, Ritsuka," spoke Soubi with a slight frown, more of a statement than a question as a particularly strong tremor shook the small boys slight frame.

"Not really," lied the violet eyed boy through chattering teeth. "Why? Are you cold?"

"I can't feel my hands," spoke the blond with a chuckle. To prove this, he lifted the hand that Ritsuka wasn't leaning on to allow the boy to examine the, indeed, blue tinged tips. Concern instantly flooded the boys' eyes, the fireworks completely forgotten, and he instantly moved to cover the blonds hand with his own.

"Why didn't you bring gloves?" the raven haired boy questioned angrily. "It's masochistic not to in this weather." Ritsuka knew that you shouldn't rub anything that might have frostbite, so he would use what little warmth he had in his own hands to warm up Soubi's. Soubi needed his fingers, after all, if he wanted to continue being an artist, right? How could he be so careless?

"That's not going to be enough, and it's only going to make you colder," commented Soubi softly and, before Ritsuka had time to react, the fighter swept the boy up from the spot he'd made a ball of himself on and deposited the sacrifice on his lap.

The violet eyed boy struggled at the sudden change of environment, shocked and slightly embarrassed that he was now placed, quite snuggly, in Soubi's embrace.

"Soubi! What are you-?"

"I'm keeping you warm, Ritsuka. I don't want you to be cold," Soubi responded softly next to one of the boys silky cat-ears, the warm breath making the boy shiver in a way that was in no way connected to the cold.

"But what about you, Soubi? What about your hands?" questioned the boy, trying to ignore the strange feeling of Soubi's gentle sigh on his ears. The man simply smiled down to the boy and chuckled.

"You can keep me warm, Ritsuka," he replied simply as he wrapped his arms around the boy, slipping his hands into Ritsuka's jacket pockets, and rested his chin on Ritsuka's head, in between his ears. The boy instantly jumped and scowled at the older man as Soubi pressed his cold hands against Ritsuka's warmer ones.

"Ach! Soubi! You're hands are freezing!"

"I told you that I couldn't feel them," murmured the fighter with a chuckle as he only held the boy closer. The sacrifice frowned. Soubi's hands might as well have been hand sized chunks of ice. Concern won over his frustration and annoyance at his troublesome fighter, and Ritsuka slowly wrapped his small hands around Soubi's, just tight enough to give them heat.

The blond smiled down at his young sacrifice, noticing how Ritsuka's cheeks seemed just a touch darker with blush as the boy did his best to maintain a slight scowl. It was … charming and adorable really, the way his young sacrifice tried to hide his real feelings. Soubi's smile grew as he called the raven haired boys attention to him.

"Ritsuka."

The boys' brow came together in slight confusion as he tilted his head a little and back to look up at his fighter. Suddenly, soft, cool lips pressed themselves against the corner of Ritsuka's for a moment before retreating with a soft smile.

Ritsuka could feel his face burn as he blushed hard and was thankful that Soubi's long blond hair had fallen around them, secluding them in their own private world if only for a small instant. His large violet eyes stared deep into Soubi's shale blue. The man just smirked at his young sacrifice.

"I hope you enjoyed the surprise, Ritsuka." That being said, Soubi entwined their fingers together, and after a moment, Ritsuka gripped them tightly before nodding almost shyly.

The sky exploded chaotically, drawing their attention back to the show, and Soubi tightened his hold on the boy while Ritsuka snuggled deeper in his fighters embrace. As they continued to sit there and, surprisingly, warm up to the point Ritsuka was comfortable and Soubi's hands stopped reminding him of a popsicle, his body had become relaxed and Soubi held the boy nestled against him. Soubi simply smiled a small smile he occasionally buried his nose in the boys hair, nuzzling and placing soft kisses on the silky soft cat-ears found there.

The pair stayed like that, content until the final, grand explosion lit the sky with its brilliance.


End file.
